Historically, in many societies, exclusionary practices in education have prevented certain disadvantaged members of society from obtaining the type of education required to improve their socio-economic well being. People of color, women and the disabled have all been prone to various types and levels of discrimination.
Fast forward to present day society and evidence shows a continued trend of disadvantage for many racial groups. Here is a link to a recent publication by the New York Times.
Your thoughts?
Link to New York Times Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/education/29scores.html
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"Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said he would like to strengthen national academic standards, tighten requirements that high-quality teachers be distributed equally across schools in affluent and poor neighborhoods, and make other adjustments."
ReplyDeleteThis is a good start...however, black students are still at the bottom of the academic scale. At my place of work, we train educators to go out there to teach our children. And more and more I see a greater influx of white prospective teachers wanting to go into schools dominated by and Latino Black without the proper knowledge and experience as to the inner workings of these children's lives.
Bell Hooks said that, in order for an educator to be effective in a classroom that is racially different from that of their own race, they have to learn the ways and lives of their students. Some of these students may come from single family homes where a parents may be strung out on drugs, in prison or facing some other socio-economic issues!
These issues affect students at home, therefore affects their ability to learn. Educators must address these problematic hindrances in order to be effective in the classroom.